AFLW semifinal wrap: One Mid West star marches on into prelim finals, while other’s season comes to close

Mid West and Gascoyne AFLW stars Julia Teakle and Mim Strom both had everything to play for in the weekend’s semifinals, but only one emerged with their premiership dream still intact. Teakle, from Geraldton and a former Northampton Rams player, was part of Port Adelaide’s thrilling one-point come-from-behind victory over Hawthorn, advancing to the preliminary finals. Exmouth’s Strom and her Fremantle Dockers were outclassed by Adelaide in the earlier semifinal on Saturday. In the Port v Hawthorn nailbiter, the Power drew first blood against the Hawks’ defence with a quick-fire goal out of the middle. The Hawks mounted a swift response, scoring two goals before the first break. A fightback during the start of the second quarter saw Port’s Gemma Houghton kick the Power back into the game. Hawthorn punched back, however, with a goal of their own heading into the main break. It was all Hawthorn in the third quarter, applying sustained forward-50 pressure to Port’s defensive line. Hawthorn jumped out to a 22-point lead going into the final term. A gutsy comeback by Port saw the Power match it with Hawthorn, coming back from the depths with a few quick goals in the opening minutes of the fourth. Hawthorn did their best to claw back the lead, only managing one goal. A late behind from Port put them in front with a minute and a half to play. Port’s stunning comeback was complete, defeating Hawthorn 7.8 (50) to 6.13 (49). Teakle had a quiet day, with Hawks defenders locking down on the star forward, keeping her to one behind and four disposals. Port will face North Melbourne in a preliminary final clash away from home, only one win away from a maiden grand final berth. In a heartbreaking end to the season, Strom and the Dockers went down in a heavy defeat to Adelaide. The Dockers got on the board early, but only managed three behinds to Adelaide’s one behind. That was until the last 30 seconds of the opening term, when the Crows scampered through with a goal heading into the first break. It was all Adelaide in the second quarter, kicking four goals to Fremantle’s three behinds. This was the story for the whole game, with Adelaide’s ball movement too efficient for Fremantle. The Crows proved why they are serious contenders in this finals series. A brief show of life from Fremantle gave them their first goal of the game at the 11-minute mark of the third quarter by way of forward Philipa Seth. It was short-lived hope for Fremantle as Adelaide ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, winning 7.7 (49) to 1.6 (12). Despite the disappointing loss, Strom capped off her standout season with another valiant effort for her side, finishing with 13 disposals and 34 hit-outs. Adelaide and Brisbane will face off in the other preliminary final this weekend.